Author's Note: Hey all! This chapter is where I take canon, twist it, rip it and throw it off the rails. There's alot happening in here though it's shorter than most other chapters. Sorry for cutting short on the fluff to introduce other plot points.

Before you read, just know I'm still withholding some information. I've tried my best to foreshadow something but it's too vague and too subtle to give anything away.

That said–read on! And I hope you enjoy. :))

Danzo Shimura is a bitter old man, brimming with rage and an ever-present itch for violence. He has his wits about him whenever he plans a mission with utmost care – a mission to sabotage a team of Iwa genin just to send a message to the Tsuchikage. He is aware that what he does is seven different kinds of wrong but he's way past the point where his conscience deems to rear its head.

There used to be remorse once, a little niggling guilt that would tell him to stop, to not do the atrocious things he did. It's a rare presence inside him now, and only shows up on particularly bad days, when he lets himself feel for once.

It didn't used to be like this, of course. Danzo was a bright-eyed, determined genin decades ago. Fresh aspirations and a strong will to go with a tide of talent. He loved his village, still does, but it used to be a pure, clean thing before. Not smeared with a vortex of negativity, not mixed with his awful actions.

He remembers being joyous. He remembers being a student. He remembers the thrill of it all – of watching Tobirama-sensei form copies of himself and then decapitate his enemies before they could get a word in edgewise. He recalls being awestruck by it all and then striving to gain his teacher's goodwill by putting in his blood, sweat and tears into improvement.

Day and night meshed into a continuous process of training, eating, sleeping, and going on missions. Through it all, Danzo never faltered, not once. Not if he wanted to achieve his goal – to become like Tobirama-sensei. To become better than him. To become Hokage.

Somewhere down the line, somehow, he noticed things. How Tobirama-sensei would tell his friend, Hiruzen, to stay back after training. How sensei would exchange meaningful looks with his friend. How he'd be just a touch more stricter with Hiruzen and push him further.

It didn't bother Danzo much. Or that's what he told himself. Again and again and again.

But truth of the matter was, it did. It sparked an ugly sort of jealously in him to be overlooked in favour of Hiruzen; goody-two-shoes, forever composed, all-rounder Hiruzen. It wasn't a rivalry, they weren't on equal footing. They never were. Hiruzen was always a step ahead, a shade better than him and Danzo was painfully aware of the fact.

But he shoved those feelings away. He had to, if he had any chance at progress. He gave it his all, he really did – but when that night came, when Tobirama-sensei made his decision, nothing mattered.

Hiruzen was picked. He was selected for the mantle of kage. Hiruzen... beat Danzo and the seething, hidden envy was back.

It was so much more potent now. So achingly present.

Danzo was smart. He wielded cunning. He wanted that position of Hokage but he couldn't have it. Not when all his efforts to shake Hiruzen, to pull him off his high chair resulted in vain.

So he changed tactics.

His ways were cruel. That's how he'd always operated – dosing Hiruzen with medicine he was allergic to when they were younger, starting a gossip chain about how 'the Hokage was an incompetent father so surely he couldn't be a good leader either' – but he was subtle, he was careful. And when he got Orochimaru under his tutelage, he trained that boy (another one who'd lost his sensei's favour), he used every trick he had with him to get the snake summoner do his bidding.

And Orochimaru did it wonderfully. His methods were equally horrifying but they yielded results. His experiments realised their potential and when, suddenly, Hiruzen announced his upcoming retirement, Danzo knew he'd win this time. He wouldn't be Hokage, but he'd get the power, the authority of a Kage anyway. He was fine with that. He was content.

But then Minato Namikaze came around and destroyed everything – he upset every single plan set into motion and by the end of the month, Danzo stood, an old, retired-nin with nothing impressive to show about him, stripped of his Root leadership. He had nothing.

He was a ruined man.

And when ruined people set their minds at ruining things, they succeed.

Danzo doesn't know just how he got it all running again, how he told the few still loyal to him to go and find recruits, how he told them "use any means necessary" at one in the morning but he knows he was successful in it. Root was up and running in under a month, this time illegally. He still had this thread of control and power and he clinged to it with an unwavering grip.

His cruel ways got crueler and before he knew it, he was announcing Naruto Uzumaki's jinchuuriki status out to the world, leaving a child at the mercy of anger-blinded villagers. Before he knew it, he was indoctrinating children to be loyal to him, to lose their connections to humanity. He was pitting one brother against another with not a drop of guilt to show for it.

Before he knew it, his dream of becoming Hokage got horribly torn apart and twisted with his yearning for power, for the sweet satisfaction of knowing that he was the one with authority – that he would always win.

He told himself a little lie though. A small, harmless little perversion of truth.

He told himself he was who he was for the good of Konoha.

He told himself that he did what he did for the good of his village.

It was easy then, to feel so empty when he convinced Hotaru and Koharu – when he ordered the massacre of the Uchiha clan. When he sent in his followers to assist Itachi discreetly and pluck eyes from still cooling bodies and when he used them to his own advantage.

It was easy to pretend that when he met with a traitor of his village, under the cover of the inky night – plotting of an invasion far far ahead – that it was for the stability of his village. That snatching Hiruzen of his hokageship was all for the betterment of Konoha's people.

Danzo, though, was a careful man. A cautious shinobi with an unreasonable amount of paranoia. He had ears and eyes everywhere.

And he had secrets, too many to count, and most were unknown to even the most loyal of his shinobi.

So when Orochimaru sent in his blue-haired chunin follower, Danzo pounced at the opportunity of getting another spy under his wing. He set the chunin at the academy, and the young man relayed useful information to Orochimaru and Danzo, both. But it was all stale news, mundane intel. Danzo had his spies rooted at much more eventful places with occurrences ten times more interesting that the brawl that broke out between two brats at the academy.

That changed two nights ago. The chunin showed up, eyes sharp and lips pressed thin.

"They know," he'd said. "They're coming for you."

Danzo didn't need to use a sharingan to see the truth of that statement. He nodded grimly, and accepted the chunin's companionship (because this young man was ambitious and cunning and had never been a true konohan ninja either). He ordered his Root shinobi, men and women and children who knew no leader other than him and told them to stay behind. He gave a look to his personal guards and they were off into the night, a chunin with them who would soon see death within the silence of the forests.

The sun is barely up in the sky when Kakashi and Kurenai break through the area-wide genjutsu. What they are faced with is an underground entrance – a thick iron gate with one word engraved on it.

Root.

It takes another three hours to assemble ten squads of jounin, with another thirty chunin covering the perimeter. They're ready as they can be when they wrench open the door and move inside.

But they find that they aren't the only ones who are ready.

Met with a fifty plus Root shinobi, all ready to fight to death, Kakashi feels the cold panic of the very real possibility that he, or his friends, would die right there.

The battle is brutal. It's not quick, it's slow and drawn-out and agonizingly long. Through it all, Kakashi keeps his focus blade-sharp, barks out precise orders amidst the clink-clank of swords and kunai, summons Pakkun and calls for extra medical assistance.

When all Root nin are subdued, Shikaku comes out short of a ear, Genma is hospitalised for a month, Hayate's sword arm is mangled. Anko rages through the cold Root base, throwing open doors after doors, ignoring the trail of blood her wounded torso leaves in her wake. Two chunin and a jounin leave the underground tunnel forever maimed. A medical nin passes out through sheer chakra exhaustion – the healing doesn't stop for three days to come.

And Kakashi stands there, leaning against the chilly grey wall, feeling as if he's been doused in cold water.

Because despite it all, Danzo had escaped.

Naruto drags himself out of bed and towards the academy. He reaches the closed tall gates and frowns.

Classes have been cancelled for the week, Iruka-sensei informs all assembled students.

The blond stares at Iruka. There's a noticeable tension he carries, rubbing his palms on his trousers as if they can't stop sweating. Sensei's characteristic warm smile is strained when he ushers students off the street and tells them to revise their study material. He doesn't tell them why the Academy is shut. He doesn't tell them why his right arm is wrapped in bandages.

Naruto doesn't ask. He knows he won't receive any answers.

In the next three days, Naruto learns snippets of what happened the other day. The watermelon vendor swiping his forehead with a rag, talking in hushed tones with his neighbour. About some village elder going bad. About children and what awful awful business!

His friends are similarly curious about the blanket of solemnity that befalls Konoha out of seemingly nowhere. They don't succeed much in finding the cause.

Naruto sits home and reads through his sealing book – he's almost done with it and it feels a little like parting with a good friend. Like waving a hand as a steadfast companion goes into the sea and disappears. He embraces that feeling and tries not to think about the whispers he hears in the village – how, for once, they're not about him.

Then, a week later, he steps into the classroom and finds a pale-faced boy seated rigidly on the middle desk of the middle row. He has an evidently fake smile on his face.

"Sakura, stop combing my hair–"

"It's soft, isn't it?"

"–is that comb shimmering?"

"–but he has so many tangles. I cannot not comb through them!"

"Get. Off. Me."

Naruto shakes his shoulders violently and Sakura, perched precariously atop the desk behind him while using him as support, falls.

"That was so not done," Sakura groans from the floor. The sparkly little comb lies under the thin paneling of the wooden desk. "I could have hit my head on the corner and died, you know that right?"

"Well, you didn't," Naruto informs her, managing to sound upset by the notion. Then, his lips twitch upwards and with his hands in plain view, he runs them through his hair, tousling them this way and that.

"All my hardwork," Sakura says in a horrified whisper and Kiba snickers from the side. She turns sharply towards him and scrambles to get up and find the comb. "Inuzuku–you're next!"

Kiba stands frozen for a second before he's shoving Shikamaru and Chouji out of the way. He's left the class for a good minute before Sakura finally gets up with her shiny comb and sets after him.

"Behaving in a civilized manner is apparently asking too much of them," Shikamaru drawls, shaking his head. He reclaims his seat that Sakura had forcefully pushed him out of and slumps on it with a relaxed 'aah'.

"They are just kids," Chouji tells his friend sagely, opening up his bag of chips. The break won't last forever.

"Thanks for providing this piece of information. I wasn't aware," Shikamaru responds dryly, scooting towards the window for Shino to join him. The bug-user does, and says,

"That is sarcasm."

Shikamaru offers him a bland smile and refrains from saying something like 'what an astute observation; you clearly have a brain in that skull of yours.' Shino returns the smile but hidden behind the large collar of his jacket, no one sees it. Maybe, that's why he smiles so often.

"Guys." Naruto speaks up then, turning to look at the three boys. Something's changed, they can tell. The blond is gripping the back of his chair way too hard and his voice is too soft for his usual cheer.

"Yes?" Shikamaru replies, giving Naruto his entire attention for the moment.

"I think... " Naruto looks over them all again before his gaze darts to the newly admitted student sitting in the next row. "I think, we should go talk to him."

Chouji frowns, "I don't mind. But I thought he is... mean. He was unnecessarily rude towards Sakura in the morning."

"Yeah," Naruto agrees. He'd seen and heard it afterall. Sakura had initiated conversation with the boy–Sai, he'd said; no surname–and Sai had replied by calling her ugly. Sakura's lips had tightened but she hadn't returned the insult. She'd simply introduced herself and trudged back to her desk. But the confused look on Sai's face... "I don't think he meant what he said though. Or, like, he didn't mean to offend her? Maybe. I don't know. I just... he's related to what happened that day, isn't he? That man, he did something to Sai. We shouldn't judge him so soon?"

Shikamaru shrugs, "I've got no problem with him. Haven't even spoken to the guy."

Naruto shoots him a smile and Chouji speaks up, "Me too. I don't think Sakura would mind either–though she'd definitely pummel Sai once he gets comfortable."

"I can go ask him," Shino mutters. All heads turn towards him at once.

"You?" Naruto repeats, a little baffled but rightly so. This is Shino. He rarely goes out of his way to make friends and start chats.

"Me," Shino confirms, adding nothing more to it. Not his reasons, not his motivations.

Chouji shares a look with Shikamaru before he pats Shino on the back and the Aburame stands up and walks towards Sai. He doesn't look uncomfortable so Naruto's wariness decreases.

"Hello," Shino greets in his polite tone. Sai looks up from the sheet of parchment he'd been scribbling on. Shino knows those aren't scribbles. That's art–art he really wishes to get to see more of.

"Hi, creep," Sai says with a perfectly curved smile. The fact that it looks so perfect makes it so fake. Shino considers for a second, if he's offended. After a thorough internal reflection, he decides that no, being called a creep isn't that bad–atleast not when the person calling him that looks more out of touch when it comes to social cues than Shino himself.

He slowly sits down beside Sai. "Is that... is that a hospital room?" he enquires, pointing at the charcoal sketch.

Sai nods, "It's where I woke up after I thought I was dead."

Shino is unfazed by the morbidity, "Why does it seem that the room's shining with an overabundance of light?"

Sai gives him that funny smile again before simply saying, "It was always dull and dark underground."

Shino tucks that information deep in his head and asks a follow-up question about the lines and figures used in the artwork. Sai answers all questions, as if he doesn't know how to not reply to them. He keeps some details vague though but Shino doesn't try to pry out information. He's talking to Sai just for the art. That's it. Yes. Just the art.

When Kakashi Hatake walks into their class again, the memory of the prank is old, buried under the newer, much darker ones from earlier that week. He tries not to let his anger linger and thwarts that voice that blames him. He gives his student his usual eye-smile, drops into his seat but doesn't pull out his orange book.

Naruto squints at the man and elbows Sakura in a manner he thinks is sneaky.

"His hair looks shorter, doesn't it?"

Now Sakura squints too and nods vigorously, "Yes. Does it seem singed?"

Naruto shrugs and Kakashi clears his throat. Everyone stares at the man, ready for another taunting challenge or a rude remark said nonchalantly. Instead, Kakashi looks each of them in the eye and asks,

"It's time I do what my job asks of me, isn't it?"

He ignores the majority of the class that gapes at him and instructs them to move to the grounds.

That day, Naruto gets paired against Sasuke and Sakura gets paired against Ino. Chouji is made to fight Shikamaru and Shino is pitted against Hinata. They all glare at Kakashi. Surely, he must know they don't want to hurt each other. But then Kakashi gives them a hard look and says,

"If you wish to improve, do it with your friends. They will push you–far more than you will do yourself. But they won't push you over the edge, like an enemy would."

Naruto chews the inside of cheek. It's just a spar. Just a friendly spar like they usually have every other day. But Kakashi calls it a fight–and that's what gives the blond a pause.

But when a Hajime is yelled, Naruto runs towards Sasuke with a fist ready and a wooden kunai hidden in his grip and he knows if he wants Sasuke to improve, it's his responsibility to push him ahead. Maybe this thoughts helps him give his best.

It also helps that Kakashi-sensei's eyes hold a blazing desperation in them–Naruto has no clue where it's come from or why it's there–and when they prove that they can somewhat defend themselves, some of that worry soothes.

Just like that, the day is over and every academy student exits with a minor injuries, body aches and bandages. They wonder which Kakashi is better. The lazy, uncaring sensei-in-name-alone Kakashi or this one.

Naruto decides it doesn't matter, because they're both the very same person.

When Naruto gets home, he kicks off his sandals and jumps straight onto bed. He lies on his back, arms stretched in a starfish pose and takes deep breaths. After he's more grounded, he carefully takes the monograph from his table and leans on his pillows. Once comfortable, he flips the pages till he's directly on the second last one.

He breathes again and reads.

[Extra-tips to Keep You Safe

It feels like I'm saying goodbye to my readers here. I've written all I could to teach someone about seals through words alone. Every topic a beginner should know about. Every piece of knowledge an aspiring sealmaster should be equipped with.

It might surprise you but this book covers less than 5% of all there is know about sealing and sealing arts. It is huge area of knowledge and one book is simply incapable of encapsulating it all. Nevertheless, I hope this was a good start and that any interested reader will pursue other sources (a few reference books are listed behind the cover) to enlarge their pool of knowledge.

Before the final, parting words, I wish to provide you with a nifty list of some obscure sealing facts/tricks that might come in handy.

-Seals that involve storing chakra within humans, or seals that involve binding two people are more effective when drawn in blood.

-If one's chakra control is appropriately good, one can carve into solid surfaces using a 'chakra tip' instead of a carving tool. It is much easier and the results are better.

-Forming the Boar, Ram, Boar sequence, if chakra is channelled anticlockwise twice in the body, any hidden seals drawn on skin will reveal themselves.

-Barrier seals should be carved on trunks of trees if they're available. The nature chakra in them, the roots and the ground will provide a boost to the security of the barrier. ]

Naruto shuts the book and places it back.

He'll read the last page tomorrow and then properly mourn its end. It's weird–to feel so deeply about an inanimate object but this monograph has become a huge part of his life for him to not understand its significance.

Right now, though, he won't think about it. His mind has latched onto that third point. A jutsu that shows seals on the skin. He's a little curious to see if he has any. He's seen a few pictures of them in books from the library. They're all usually intricate and make great tattoos. He's sure he doesn't have one–he would remember if someone ever drew seals on his skin.

Maybe he'll make one himself, just so the jutsu would make it visible.

He shrugs at the thought and quickly undresses. Sitting cross-legged, he closes his eyes and focuses. His hands form the sequence of handseals, boar then ram then boar again. And he grabs at his chakra, forces it to do his bidding. The other, much larger tug is still present, it always has been. But it's been with him too long for it to not feel natural. He ignores it and concentrates on the blue, wispy, chakra lines running in his network.

He urges it to move.

And it does. Twice anticlockwise. It's a basic circulation exercise.

When it's done, he slowly opens his eyes, fully expecting to be met with plain, unblemished skin.

Instead, he sees a vaguely circular seal, complex down to singular strokes, drawn on his stomach like its always belonged there.

It takes his breath away.

Kakashi gets to the Kage office, foregoes knocking and goes straight inside. It has become a routine of the last week. He comes up here, every single day, to inquire about one thing.

"Did anyone spot him?"

Hiruzen takes a puff from his pipe, places it down silently and replies with all the exasperation he feels.

"No, they haven't. If they had, I would've called for you and told you–like I promised I would."

Kakashi ignores his reply. "When will Jiraiya-san be able to return?"

"Not any time soon," the Kage says, folding his arms on the desk ahead of him. "Kakashi. You need to calm down. You're too high-strung. I need you to think."

Kakashi grits his teeth and stops himself from yelling at the man. It won't do any good. "Okay. I'm calm. Now, tell me why exactly can he not be here when we really fucking need him to remove the seal from Root members? There's no other way to get intel on that bastard."

"Because he's our village's spymaster, first and foremost," Hiruzen gives Kakashi a stern look, a look that says Kakashi should've realised this already. "And his primary duty right now is to find Danzo, wherever he is. Jiraiya has sources everywhere and the chances of him finding Danzo are higher while he's actively searching for him on the field, than here, trying to dismantle a seal that might take too long."

Kakashi forces himself to exhale and bite his tongue from letting go of another scathing remark. Hiruzen isn't in the mood to appreciate his temper today.

"Look," Kakashi says, finally relaxing into the chair. "Just send me on a mission alright? I need to get out and find that son of a bitch myself. I don't know how to train those children and you can assign someone else to look over Naruto. That raid has messed me up, my thoughts are too... I need to get out."

Hiruzen's eyes soften and he heaves a heavy sigh. "I can't do that, Kakashi. If I send you on a wild goose chase to eliminate Danzo, you'll run yourself ragged. And you're too valuable an asset to sent outside right now. We need you in the village. We need you to train those kids and then get a few genin to teach."

Kakashi gives a bitter chuckle because he knows exactly what this means. "You want me to succeed you."

Hiruzen doesn't give a response but it's all the confirmation Kakashi needs. He feels too tired to protest. Maybe tomorrow he will.

Someone knocks loudly at the door and Hiruzen permits them to enter. A chunin walks in hurriedly, a deeply confused frown on his forehead. He is panting, so he came up running. Hiruzen waits for him to compose himself before asking,

"What's the matter, Nagawami?"

The chunin has that bemused look again, as if he doesn't know the words he's supposed to say. He glances at Kakashi. When he speaks, though, his words are clear and Kakashi feels his world skid to a halt and shatter.

"There's a man at the gates. Shinobi by the looks of it. He's asking for Hatake-san. He says... he says he's an Uchiha. Obito Uchiha."

Author's Note:

...yesssss. That's it for this one.

The next chapter should explain a lot of things–but alot of other things won't be clarified for a little while. Don't worry about the villains and Akatsuki and shit too much. I don't want it to be too plotty.

Also, ooof, writing Danzo's character block was tough. He's very difficult to get right but this was my interpretation of him and my version of him. He's not a bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy but all his reasons are like self-justifications. After everything, he does this horrible shit because he doesn't have anything else to identify himself with–if that... if that makes any sense? Hmm, maybe not lmao.

Anyway, before I get carried away. Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts and have a good day!